The Cloud
'' |image= |series= |production=106 |producer(s)= |story= Brannon Braga |script= Tom Szollosi and Michael Piller |director=David Livingston |imdbref=tt0708978 |guests=Luigi Amodeo as The Gigolo, Angela Dohrmann as Ricky, Judy Geeson as Sandrine and Larry Hankin as Gaunt Gary |previous_production=Phage |next_production=Eye of the Needle |episode=VGR S01E06 |airdate=13 February 1995 |previous_release=(VGR) Phage (Overall) Heart of Stone |next_release=(VGR) Eye of the Needle (Overall) Destiny |story_date(s)=48546.2 (2371) |previous_story=(VGR) Phage (Overall) Heart of Stone |next_story=(VGR) Eye of the Needle (Overall) Destiny }} Summary Eager to raise the morale of the crew, Janeway jumps at the chance to explore a nebula emitting a high level of omicron particles, which might prove useful for the ship's energy reserves. But shortly after Voyager enters the cloud-like formation, it encounters an energy barrier that brings the ship to a dead stop. Breaking through, the ship continues its penetration of the nebula's inner reaches, only to be bombarded by peculiar globules that attach themselves to the hull. With the globules beginning to drain the starship's energy reserves, Janeway orders the crew to leave the nebula, but this time they can't get past the energy barrier until they blast their way out with a photon torpedo. The excitement over, Paris invites Kim to tag along for some rest and recreation in Sandrine's, a holodeck recreation of a French bar that Paris frequented in his Academy days. In the meantime, Torres spends her time analyzing one of the globules that attached itself to the hull. Surprised at the results, she confirms her findings with the Doctor and then notifies the Captain. The globules are organic elements of a much larger lifeform, she explains. In other words, the nebula was actually a living entity and the phenomena they encountered were part of the entity's natural defense systems. Concerned that the encounter with Voyager may have caused the lifeform serious injury, Janeway proposes returning and repairing the harm they've done. The Doctor tells her that the organic samples seem to indicate that the lifeform has the capacity to regenerate, given the appropriate stimulation. Returning to the "nebula," Voyager re-enters and prepares to irradiate the wound with a nucleonic beam. But they're interrupted when the lifeform's natural defense systems again attack the ship, forcing them away from the wound. Although the ship sustains damage, they are eventually able to return to the injury site. The Doctor suggests a method of "suturing" the wound, which they manage to do after distracting the entity's defense systems with a microprobe. Just before the wound seals over, Voyager escapes from the cloud and sets course for a planet where they can replenish their depleted energy reserves. En route, Janeway joins Paris and her other senior staff officers at Sandrine's, where everyone is surprised with her pool playing expertise. Errors and Explanations Internet Movie Database Character error # On the Bridge, Tuvok privately communicates with Ensign Kim that as a senior officer he has to set a good example for the Junior Officers. Kim is an Ensign, as junior an officer as you can get. Kim is a newly commission Ensign and would never be called a senior officer. To avoid the argument that he was thrust into that position after being transported into the Delta Quadrant, Kim took his position before that event. As Operations Officer, Kim is considered part of the senior staff. Continuity # At the end of the second part of the pilot, Janeway promoted Tom Paris to the rank of lieutenant. At the beginning of this episode, however, he refers to himself as an ensign, after Harry Kim tells him he should've asked Janeway to join them in the mess hall. No he isn’t – his use of the rank is part of his friendly advice to Harry. Plot holes # Power reserves on the ship are so low that Captain Janeway would need to use ration points to replicate a cup of coffee. Tom Paris however has an entire holodeck simulation running for a long length of time. The holodeck system uses a totally different power system, which is incompatible with other systems. Nit Central # Johnny Veitch on Saturday, November 21, 1998 - 11:17 am: Why is Janeway making a *personal* log while walking around the ship? Especially a personal log which she wants partially deleted from the computer files? Did the creators think it was more interesting than seeing Janeway sitting in her quarters making the recording, even though that would be more appropriate? George on Sunday, January 23, 2000 - 11:41 am: About the personal log at the beginning of the show - it looks like Janeway is "thinking" the log entry until the end, when she speaks the order to delete the entry. Is there some invisible psychotricorder at work? Aren't most log entries spoken? The computer seemed to acknowledge the request, even though the only words spoken were to delete the entry. If she thought she was making the entry but in reality hadn't, the computer should have prompted her to repeat her request. Plantman on Friday, August 18, 2000 - 10:48 am: I was under the impression that Janeway recorded the log entry prior to the episode. It's just playing it for us while she takes a stroll through the ship. She never says anything to the computer during her entire walk. Category:Episodes Category:Voyager